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PlainSpell

cut out

cut·out/ˈkʌt.aʊt/verb, adjective

cut out is spelled C-U-T-O-U-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables (cut·out). People search “cut-out vs cutout” about 50 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, cut out means “Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cut, out. To sever from something larger, with or as if with a sharp-edged instrument” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in cut out?

Letters6: C-U-T-O-U-T
Syllables2: cut·out
In writinga phrase: the frequency list counts single words
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How do you pronounce cut out?

  • UK /ˈkʌt.aʊt/
  • US /ˈkʌt.aʊt/
  • US /ˈkʌɾ-/

Cut out has 2 syllables, split cut·out in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-cut_out.ogg, En-au-cut-out.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with cut out

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

cut-out vs cutout50 G

Also written: cutout (one word or two).

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of cut out

  • cuts out present, singular, he/she/it
  • cutting out participle, present
  • more cut out comparative
  • most cut out superlative
  • cutout

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does cut out mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cut, out. To sever from something larger, with or as if with a sharp-edged instrument.

    Cut out the letters and paste them on the poster.

  2. 2

    informalTo refrain from (doing something, using something etc.), to stop or cease (doing something).

    He had to cut out smoking in order to be prepared for the marathon.

  3. 3

    To remove; to omit.

    If we cut out the middle-man, we will both have better profits.

  4. 4

    To oust; to replace.

  5. 5

    AustraliaUSTo separate (an animal) from the herd.

  6. 6

    To stop working, to switch off; (of a person on the telephone etc.) to be inaudible, be disconnected.

    It was around then that the engine suddenly cut out.

  7. 7

    To leave suddenly.

    He must have cut out of the party.

  8. 8

    To arrange or prepare.

    He has his work cut out for him.

adjective

  1. 1

    Well suited; appropriate; fit for a particular activity or purpose.

    I'm not really cut out for camping outdoors. I'm allergic to mosquito bites.

noun

as cut-out
  1. 1

    A hole or space produced when something is removed by cutting.

    a dress with cut-out sides

  2. 2

    A piece cut out of something.

  3. 3

    A free-standing, rigid print (usually life-sized), often displayed for promotional purposes; a standee.

  4. 4

    A kind of cookie produced in a certain shape by use of a cookie cutter.

  5. 5

    An item of clothing, such as a dress or shoe, designed with portions cut away.

  6. 6

    A trusted middleman or intermediary, especially in espionage.

  7. 7

    A piece of clip art.

  8. 8

    Any of several devices that halt the flow of a current, especially an electric current; a trip-switch or trip.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Cut out in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanausschneiden (to separate into parts with or as if with a…), unterlassen, aufhören (refrain from (doing)), weglassen, übergehen, überspringen (remove, omit)
Spanishrecortar, cortar (to separate into parts with or as if with a…), dejar de, dejar (refrain from (doing)), quitar, omitir (remove, omit)
Frencharrêter de (refrain from (doing)), enlever, supprimer (remove, omit), caler (stop working, be disconnected), découpe (space or hole produced by cutting), découpage (piece removed by cutting)
Portuguesecortar (stop working, be disconnected), recorte (piece removed by cutting)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does cut out come from?

Deverbal from cut out.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after cut out